American Go E-Journal

KGS Announces Meijin Tourney

Chris Garlock — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:51:26 +0000

Beginning this year, KGS will crown one player as the KGS Meijin annually. January through October, there will be monthly qualifying tournaments on KGS. Each month the qualifiers will be at a different time and will have a different setup, some qualifiers will be open signup, others will require an established rank on KGS. In each tournament, one or more participants will earn eligibility for the Finals. The Finals will run November through December. The final KGS Meijin winner will receive a cash prize and a special Meijin icon. The February Qualifier will be held on February 25th & 26th, in American daytime “and we would like to encourage as many AGA members to join,” says KGS admin and Meijin Qualifier TD Akane Negishi (sweety). Click here for tournament details.

Go Photos: At the San Diego Go Soiree

Chris Garlock — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:48:31 +0000

The winter 2012 San Diego Go Soiree attracted 23 go players to the home of San Diego Go Club President Ted Terpstra January 29 for seven hours of informal games. Players ranked from beginners to San Diego’s only go professional, Shirley Lin, attended. Two visiting 7-dans from Japan were honored guests. Several members of the UCSD Go Club also attended, including Tyler Oyakawa, 2 dan, who beat many higher ranked players.
photos: right: Mr. Kohmoto (l, from Japan) and Tyler Oyakama (r, UCSD) overlooking Mission Bay and the Pacific Ocean; left: part of the assembled crowd. Photos courtesy Ted Terpstra.

Mexico Schools Portland

Paul Barchilon — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:36:43 +0000

Four teams of elementary school kids in Portland OR and Mexico City, competed against each other in a friendly inter-school match on KGS, Jan. 21st. The kids from Mexico attend Pipiolo Art Institute, and are taught by Siddhartha Avila, who is building a vital Mexican Go community around his youth programs. In Portland, Peter Freedman is workingwith kids at the Irvington School Chess and Go Club. Each school fielded two teams of three kids, the youngest player was 6 years old. The Mexican kids have been playing longer, and won an impressive 10 out of 12 games. “The kids on both sides were really, really, excited,” reports Freedman. “They chatted nicely with each other as they played: ‘How old are you?’ ‘You won. You are better than me.’…We Skyped at the same time, so the kids could see each other. We made introductions, saw Sid’s classroom…it was very, very cool,” added Freedman.
- Paul Barchilon, EJ Youth Editor. Photos: top: Peter Freedman and the Irvington School kids; bottom: Siddhartha Avila with the Pipolo students

Redmond Cup Open for Registration

Paul Barchilon — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:01:07 +0000

Young American go players can now sign up for the 19th annual Redmond Cup Tournament. Preliminary games will be played on the Internet, courtesy of IGS-PandaNet, and the four finalists will be invited to the 2012 US Go Congress to play the final games. There are two divisions in the Cup; the Junior league for kids under 12 years old, and the Senior league for those under 18, on August 1st 2012. Competitors in the Senior League must have an AGA rank of 1 dan or higher, in the Junior 5 kyu or stronger. The participants must be members of the American Go Association or the Canadian Go Association and either residents of the U.S., Canada or Mexico, or citizens of the United States living anywhere in the world, provided that they are also members of the AGA. The tournament director for the Redmond Cup is Michael Bull; Ing rules of Goe for all games. To register e-mail youth@usgo.org with your name, phone #, date of birth, AGA rating, IGS ID, and citizenship. The registration deadline is March 8, 2012. The Cup is sponsored by Michael Redmond 9P and his family, the American Go Association and the American Go Foundation. Photo: 2011 finalists, Aaron Ye 4d (l), and Sammy Zhang 3d(r) compete at the US Go Congres in Santa Barbara. – Paul Barchilon, Youth Editor.

CGA Re-Issues KGS Leagues Invite

Chris Garlock — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:05:37 +0000

A second invitation to play in the Canadian Go Association KGS Leagues has been issued to AGA players before the start of the next round on February 15th. “We have about 20 American go players so far from beginner to 8+ dan for a total of about 75,” reports Chuck Elliot. “We would welcome more.” The League games provide an excellent opportunity for players to play serious games year-round, meet friends, and get stronger. Last year’s prizes totaled $450, which Elliot hopes will grow to $2000 in 2012. Visit the League website for more information, and to see the posted rounds. Click on Current Round to see the previous round; click on Annual League Schedule to see all. When you register, send an email saying “Chuck, I’m in” to Elliot at ChuckBrenda@shaw.ca. This offer will be open all year.
- Karoline Burrall, AGA Tournaments Coordinator

“So You Want to Play Go?” Released

Chris Garlock — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:30:47 +0000

Jonathan Hop’s “So You Want to Play Go?” is now out. Targeted at single digit dan players, the new publication – the fourth in Hop’s series — contains sections on joseki, positional judgment, and professional games, “and simulates my time studying at a professional dojo in Korea.” The book has been reviewed by Alexandre Dinerchtein and contains information about his insei league on KGS. Available on the Kindle and on Hop’s Sunday Go Lessons website. Click here for a free sample.

This Week’s Go Calendar: Arlington, Chicago, Menlo Park

Roger Schrag — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:32:20 +0000

February 11: Arlington, VA
NOVA Chinese New Year Tournament
Gary Smith gary@novagoclub.org 703.254.6429

February 11: Chicago, IL
I Sing the Body Electric
Bob Barber komoku@clear.net 773.467.0423
Mark Rubenstein mark@easyaspi.com

February 11: Menlo Park, CA
Bay Area Go Players Association Monthly AGA Ratings Tournament
Roger Schrag rs1249@bayareago.org 510.501.2701
Steve Burrall sburrall@comcast.net 916.688.2858

Check the very latest tournament information.

Chizu Kobayashi 5P Visits Seattle Go Center

Brian Allen — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:00:56 +0000

Chizu Kobayashi 5P, the charming and enthusiastic Executive Director of the Nihon Ki-in, made a two-day visit to the Seattle area that combined teaching and administration. On Monday, Jan. 23, she visited the Microsoft campus, gave a lecture, and then went to the Seattle Go Center to meet with the Directors of the Center. On Tuesday, she toured the veterinary facilities of the Go Center’s new tenant, Companion Pet Care. She then gave lectures in the afternoon and evening at the Go Center. Over 50 people came for her talks, which included her fond memories of the founder of the Seattle Go Center, Iwamoto Kaoru, group go games, and go problems. Photo: Frank Fukuda of the Go Center and Chizu Kobayashi 5P start the evening lecture. - photo/report by Brian Allen

AGA-Korea Agreements Posted

Chris Garlock — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:00:17 +0000

The recent agreements signed by the American Go Association with Korea to promote a new professional players’ system in theU.S.have now been posted. Click on our original report — AGA Inks Deals with Korea to Develop U.S. Pro System (12/26/2011 EJ) – for details on the agreements AGA Board Chairman Andy Okun signed with the Korea Baduk Association and the Korean go server TongYang Online (Tygem) December 19th in Seoul, Korea.

Registration Opens for 2nd YKNOT Tourney; $3,000 in Prizes

Chris Garlock — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:46:32 +0000

The second Young Kwon National Online Tournament (YKNOT) is set for March 3, 4, and 10. Registration is free. YKNOT is sponsored by Young Kwon, a former US Open champion dedicated to promoting go in the US (see “The Man Behind the YKNOT Tournament” 12/20/2010 EJ). Players will compete for a total prize purse of nearly $3,000 in one of the largest Western online go tournaments. U.S. players of any strength are eligible for free registration, as long as they are AGA members and have resided in the United States for six of the last 12 months. The tournament will take place on the KGS Go Server. Click here for the YKNOT schedule, tournament rules, and TD contact. Registration closes on Friday February 24th. Players new to KGS are strongly encouraged to review the AGA’s KGS Tutorial and to play a few games on KGS prior to the tournament. THIS JUST IN: The open section of the YKNOT 2 will be scored as the first online North American Ing Masters Qualifier, the players in that section will be able to earn points towards playing in the North American Ing Masters Tournament in Black Mountain, NC in August.
- Karoline Burrall, AGA Tournament Coordinator

Feb. 25 Atlanta Tourney First Ing Qualifier in Eastern U.S.

Chris Garlock — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:30:23 +0000

The February 25 Year of the Dragon Winter Go Tournament in Atlanta, GA will be the first North American Ing Masters qualifying tournament of the year to be held in the East. The tournament starts at 9a at the Peachtree Executive Office Park. Be sure to register at least 4 days in advance; there’s a $15 entry fee, and prizes will be awarded in all divisions. The players of the high dan division are eligible to win points toward competing in the North American Ing Masters Tournament at the 2012 US Go Congress in Black Mountain, NC. See the Atlanta Go Club’s Facebook page, GT Go Club@Atlanta for more details.
- Karoline Burrall, AGA Tournament Coordinator

Your Move/Readers Write: Cuban Go?

Chris Garlock — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:06:18 +0000

“Do you have any contact information for Cuban go players?” wonders Phil. “I’ll arrive in Havana on Saturday, Feb. 4. I did play at the Havana club in 2003, but perhaps someone has more up-to-date information.” Email us at journal@usgo.org with any info/contacts, and muy gracias!
“We have an Go Academy,” reports Rafael Torres Miranda; the address is: Academia Cubana de Go (Cuban Go Academy),Centro Deportivo ( Sport Center) Eduardo Saborti; 5ta Ave y 120. Playa. email: academiacubanadego@yahoo.com. Contact: Rafael Torres Miranda ( 57 5 2850452 ); rafael@supplyinbond.co.cu

Choi Jung Wins Female Myeongin at 15

David Ormerod — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:10:58 +0000

On January 26, 2012, Choi Jung 1P defeated Kim Miri 2P in Korea’s 13th Female Myeongin. At only 15 years of age, Choi also became the youngest female title holder in Korea – just 18 months after turning pro. En route to the final, Choi defeated the likes of Park Jieun 9P and Cho Hyeyeon 9P, but lamented the fact that she was unable to challenge Rui Naiwei 9P, because Rui recently to returned China. The cheeky youngster even went so far as to joke that Rui had run away from her. The Myeongin is Korea’s equivalent of the Japanese Meijin title. Choi’s next goal for 2012 is to get selected by a team to play in the popular Korean Baduk League. Congratulations Choi Jung!

- Jingning; Games and photos are available in her original article: Choi Jung makes her breakthrough in the 13th Female Myeongin. Photo: Choi Jung 1P (pictured) plays against Kim Miri 2P in the 13th Female Myeongin final.

Huiren Yang 1P Wins N.A. Ing Cup Selection Tournament

Chris Garlock — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:04:00 +0000

Huiren Yang 1P defeated Janice Kim 3P and Feng Yun 9P last weekend to win the right to represent North America at this

download SGF file

year’s Ing Cup World Professional Goe Championship. Yang, taking White, beat Kim on January 28 (see below left for game record) and then, taking Black, defeated Feng Yun on January 29 (game record at right). The knock-out North American Ing Cup Selection Tournament was held on IGS. Established in 1988, the Ing Cup was the first worldwide international professional tournament. With $500,000 in prizes, it has the largest prize of any international tournament. Every four years, 24 top players from around the world are invited to play.

download SGF file

Chunlan Cup Spots Still Available; Deadline Thursday, Feb. 2

Chris Garlock — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:24:33 +0000

Spots are still available in the Chunlan Cup 2012 Selection Tournament for professionals and amateurs 6-dan and stronger. U.S. citizenship is required. Registration closes at midnight on Thursday, February 2nd. To register for this tournament, email tournaments@usgo.org. Click here for full details on the tournament schedule, rules and procedures.

Sun Wins U.S. Youth Go Championships

Paul Barchilon — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:14:53 +0000

Fourteen-year-old Calvin Sun 7d reasserted his position as the strongest youth player in America this past weekend. He entered the double elimination finals for the US Youth Go Championships as one of four finalists, in the Senior Division, but went on to win every game in a dynamic show of force. Andrew Lu 6d was the only player to beat Sun in the qualifiers, also scoring a win against Hugh Zhang 7d, which gave him the top slot as the finals began. Lu started out well, defeating Zhang again in the first round of the finals, while Sun beat Matthew Harwit 4d. Round 2 saw Zhang knocking out Harwit, while Sun got even with Lu for his earlier defeat. Next Lu and Zhang squared off, but Zhang was determined not to lose a third time to Lu, and knocked him out in a strong third round showing. Zhang was now aiming for Sun again, the two boys have been rivals for years, competing in the Redmond Cup and other events since they were both small children. Sun stood his ground yet again though, knocking Zhang out in the exciting final match – and claiming the championship. The games drew over 200 spectators on KGS, and a great deal of enthusiasm from US youngsters who had competed in the qualifiers the week before. Sun will go on to represent the US at the World Youth Go Championships this summer. In the Junior Division, Aaron Ye 4d and Jeremy Chiu 4d faced off against Daniel Liu 3d and Justin Ching 1d. Ching was knocked out, setting the stage for a showdown between Liu, Chiu, and Ye. As all three boys live in the Bay Area, they will compete live at the BAGPA ratings tourney on Feb. 11. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Photo by Brian Allen: Calvin Sun at the US Go Congress.

Vincent Zhuang 6D Wins Jin Chen Memorial Tournament

Brian Allen — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:08:46 +0000

Fifteen year old Vincent Zhuang 6D won the 2012 Jin Chen Memorial Tournament on Jan. 8. The annual tournament attracted 42 players, and was the largest AGA-rated event at the Seattle Go Center in several years.

Zhuang is a 10th grader living in Portland, Oregon. He won the 19×19 Iwamoto Youth Tournament at the Seattle Go Center two and a half years ago, when he was rated as a 1 kyu. This time he bested several 7 dans in the open section.

The total prize money was $1,000, thanks to a matching donation from the Ourjin Foundation. Winners in the Open Section were: Vincent Zhuang – 1st, Dong Baek Kim – 2nd, Edward Kim – 3rd, Jon Boley – 4th, Dong Ho Kim – 5th. “A” Handicap section: Chris Kirschner – 1st, Daniel Top – 2nd, Takehito Furuyama – 3rd. “B” Handicap section: Peter Christensen – 1st, Larry Eclipse – 2nd, Frank Brown – 3rd. “C” Handicap section: Bill Thompson – 1st, Gaurav Oberoi – 2nd, Yuriko Miyake – 3rd.
- report/photo by Brian Allen

This Week’s Go Calendar: Columbus, Burlington, Germantown

Roger Schrag — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:14:25 +0000

February 4: Columbus, OH
2012 Chinese Spring Festival Go Tournament
Corey Sanders corey.thecolonel@gmail.com 614.208.3061
Tim Kington timkington@gmail.com

February 5: Burlington, VT
Escape from The Elements Go Tourney
Dave Felcan dfelcan@yahoo.com 802.860.9587

February 5: Germantown, MD
Yuan Zhou’s Group Go Lesson
Yuan Zhou yuan.zhou@zhouyuan.com 240.271.2304

Check the very latest tournament information.

Yearbook Contributors Wanted

Chris Garlock — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:14:10 +0000

If you’d like to help put together the 2011 American Go Yearbook, email journal@usgo.org Experience with InDesign preferred. Be part of the team producing the annual collection of the best material from the American Go E-Journal.

Lu and Chiu Top USYGC

Paul Barchilon — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:08:52 +0000

The United States Youth Go Championships (USYGC) pulled in almost 70 players this past weekend on KGS. Kids and teens competed in five different bands, with players ranging from 7 dan to the double digit kyus. Dan level kids were also competing for entry into the four player finals, and the right to represent the US at the World Youth Go Championships this summer. Fifteen-year-old Andrew Lu 6d (at left) finished first in the qualifiers for the Senior Division (under 16) while nine-year-old Jeremy Chiu 4d (at right) placed first in the Junior (under 12). The finals are double-elimination, and the first two rounds were held Sunday. The finals continue next week on KGS for the Senior Division, while Jr. Division kids will square off in person on Feb. 11th, at the BAGPA ratings tourney in Menlo Park CA. For full qualifier results, go here; for schedule and results in the finals go here. Senior finalists are Andrew Lu 6d, Hugh Zhang 7d, Calvin Sun 7d and Matthew Harwit 4d; Junior finalists are Jeremy Chiu 4d, Justin Ching 1d, Aaron Ye 4d, and Daniel Liu 3d. Winners Report: 1st place Sr. 5-8 dan: Andrew Lu 6d; 1st place Jr. dan: Jeremy Chiu 4d; 1st place Sr. 1-4 dan: Matthew Harwit 4d; 1st place Sr. 1-5 kyu: Anurag Varma 3k; 1st place Jr. 1-5 kyu: Austen Liao; 1st place Sr. 6-10 kyu: Louie Liu 7k; 1st place Jr. 6-10 kyu: Raymond Liu 6k; 1st place Sr. 11-15 kyu band: Kalinda Fraser 12k; 1st place Jr. 11-15 kyu band: Bryan Tan 12k. The tournament was run by Paul Barchilon and Karoline Burrall. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor

School Teams Tournament Registration Opens

Paul Barchilon — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:05:32 +0000

Are you enrolled in a go club at school? If so, this is your chance to challenge other go clubs from all over North America. Registration is now open for the American Go Honor Society’s (AGHS) 13th annual School Team Tournament. On March 17th and 24th, go clubs from the United States, Canada, and Mexico will compete for $3,000 in prizes, with some for every club. Which club will take home the glory of being North America’s strongest go club? Register from now to March 1st to take your shot at being the best. Gather your team mates and play in various divisions ranging from Novice to Varsity level. Teams must be composed of three people who are in high school or below and are all younger than 20. Each member of each team must be enrolled in the same school or learning institution, and each school/learning institution can enter a maximum of 3 teams for the tournament. For more information and registration, go to www.aghs.cc or contact us at aghsregister@gmail.com. -Viral Kotecha, AGHS Tournament Coordinator

This Week’s Go Calendar: New York, Phoenix, San Diego

Roger Schrag — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:05:48 +0000

January 28: New York City, NY
AGA Dan Extravaganza
Andy Liu andy11365@yahoo.com 718.501.1326
Ben Lockhart benlockhart@gmail.com 917.495.1540

January 29: Phoenix, AZ
2012 Phoenix Chinese Week Go Open
Quan Li quan52@gmail.com 602.326.7556
Bill Gundberg bill@azgoclub.org 480.831.5567

January 29: San Diego, CA
San Diego Go Club Soiree
Ted Terpstra teddy.terpstra@gmail.com 619.384.3454

Check the very latest tournament information.

EuroGoTV-News: December 31-January 17

Chris Garlock — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:18:22 +0000

Poland: Kamil Chwedyna 4d (photo) won the Black Stone tournament, played 1/7-8 in Katowice, Poland. Click here for results. Lithuania: Gytis Vasiliauskas 1d was the winner at the 1/17 Trys Karaliai tournament in Vilnius, Lithuania. Click here for results. Spain: Sabina Rodriguez 9k topped the La Carboneria tournament played 1/7 in Sevilla, Spain. Click here for results. Croatia: Mladen Smud 1k won the Silvester tournament, played 12/31in Velika Gorica, Croatia. Click here for results. Zvonko Bednjanec 3k took first place in the Velika Gorica tournament 1/7 in Velika Gorica, Croatia. Click here for results. Upcoming European Tournaments: France: The 27th annual Antony Tournament, which also this year includes the 40th Paris Tournament (Antony is a Paris suburb) is set for 2/4-5. Romania: the Shusaku Tournament is scheduled for March 30 thru April 1 and features strong Chinese pros as guests, many strong players and, say organizers, “is well known for its parties.”
- Excerpted from reports – including full results — on EuroGoTV

Nihon Ki-in Releases Tsume-go App

Chris Garlock — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:44:06 +0000

The Nihon Ki-in has launched a tsume-go (life-and-death) app for iPhone and iPad users called Nihon Kiin Tsumego Master. “There are 400 tsumego problems for levels from beginners to dan players,” the Nihon Ki-in’s Tomotaka Urasoe tells the E-Journal. “More than 100 problems are original, specially-made for the Tsumego Master app by young professionals who are noted tsumego creators.” Urasoe, who’s in charge of the overseas department at the Nihon Ki-in, notes that one of Japans top players, Yamashita Keigo 9P, current Meijin and Honinbo, “strongly recommends Tsumego Master to all amateur players and we want to introduce the app to American go players as well because these are really good problems that will help them to get stronger.” Urasoe adds that “We will continue to add more problems to the app.”
NOTE: as with all go tools, from apps and software to books and equipment, we’re interested in your opinions; email journal@usgo.org with your comments/reviews on this and other go tools.

Andy Zalesak 1d Tops Triangle Friendship Tournament

Chris Garlock — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:51:27 +0000

Andy Zalesak 1d (right, in photo, playing Paul Celmer) took top honors in the top band of the Triangle Go Group’s Friendship/Ratings tournament, held on Sunday, January 15, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Zalesak won three of his four games, with four others in this highly competitive band – two 6-dans, a 3-dan, 5-dan, and two 1-dans — tied for second place with 2-2 results. In the second band, Thomas McCarthy was undefeated, going 4-0 for the day. Stephen Allen came in 2nd, with a 3-1 record. In the third band, another Zalesak, Matthew, won all 4 of his games. John Aiken won the three games that he played, but declined prize money, which was awarded to young Alvin Chen. As usual, all entry fees were returned as cash prizes.
- report/photo by Bob Bacon, TD

Registration Opens for N.A. Chunlan Cup Selection Tournament

Chris Garlock — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:37:29 +0000

THIS JUST IN: Registration is now open for the 2012 Chunlan Cup Selection Tournament, which will be held on KGS on Saturday Feb. 4 and Sunday Feb. 5. Professionals and amateurs 6-dan or stronger who are citizens of North Americaare eligible. The winner must be able to attend the Chunlan Cup, the first round of which will take place March 26-31 in China. To register, email tournaments@usgo.org with your name and KGS name. The Chunlan Cup Selection Tournament is a knockout tournament that will determine the North American representative; there are 12 reserved slots for US players, three for Canada and one forMexico. Should more than 12 players express interest, placing will be chosen by AGA rating. Citizenship is required to participate; besides this stipulation, eligibility to play will be based on the AGA guidelines for international representatives. Registration for the tournament will close on Thursday, February 2.

Cole Pruitt 2k Wins MA Winter Tourney

Chris Garlock — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:36:14 +0000

Cole Pruitt 2k took first place in the 2012 Massachusetts Go Association Winter Quarterly Tournament, held January 15th at the Boylston Chess Club Tournament Hall in Somerville, MA. Thirty-three players battled for three place prizes in this handicap tournament directed by Eva Casey 4k. Despite very cold temperatures (-15C) and changes to the nearby subway schedule players between the ages of 11 to 75 participated with people coming from all over New England and a couple of Mid-Atlantic states. MGA President David Kahn declared the tournament a great success. After four rounds, three people rose to the top. Taking 3^rd 3 points was Chia Chan 7k; 2^nd was won by Ralph St. Louis 9k and taking the top spot was Cole Pruitt 4k, with 4 out of 4 points.
-Reported by Richard “Doc” Kinne 20k, AGA and MGA member.

Jung Hoon Lee 7d Wins Rocky Mtn Tourney

Chris Garlock — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:37:48 +0000

Jung Hoon Lee 7d topped a field of 40 players competing in the Rocky Mountain Winter Go Tournament, January 14 in Boulder, Colorado. The players ranged in strength from 7 dan to 38 kyu, reports organizer David Weiss.

Winner’s Report: Open Section: The winner of the open section was Jung Hoon Lee, 7d. Dan section: 1^st: Luke Zhang 1d; 2^nd: Huck Bennett 3d. SDK: 1^st: Kent Evenson; 2^nd: Robin Luo. DDK: 1^st: Andrew Jung 16k; 2^nd: Hannah Jung 15k. “In his first tournament, 5-year, 2-month-old Andrew Huang 38k won both of his games by a significant margin against 7- and 11-year-old players,” reports Weiss. “We expect him to become very strong very quickly.”
photo: Huck Bennett (l) 3d vs. Oscar Vazquez Nunez 1d. Photo by Paul Barchilon.

Your Move/Readers Write: Adjusting the Frequency

Chris Garlock — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:31:00 +0000

“I suddenly seem to be getting the daily EJ,” writes Roy. “How do I switch to the weekly?”
At the bottom of the EJ, click on ” UPDATE YOUR PROFILE” and then select the desired frequency.

John Tromp Faces a New Challenger in Shodan Go Bet Rerun

David Ormerod — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:15:46 +0000

In a rerun of 2010′s Shodan Go Bet match, John Tromp will once again meet the challenge from a top computer go program, in a best-of-five match this week. The challenger is Zen19, a program which has already surprised many by achieving a rank of 4-5 dan on KGS. Tromp, whose last known rank was EGF 2 dan, won a similar match against David Fotland’s Many Faces of Go at the 2010 London Open Go Tournament, with a clean sweep of four games to nil. This time the match will take place on the KGS Go Server. Tromp will connect from his home in New York, while Zen19 (written by Yoji Ojima) will connect from Japan. You can watch the match live on KGS. Even if you don’t have an account on KGS, just click here and login as a guest to watch. The match will be played in the Computer Go room. Here’s the schedule for the games: Fri, Jan 13, 8pm US Eastern Time; Sat, Jan 14, 8pm US Eastern Time; Sun, Jan 15, 8pm US Eastern Time; Mon, Jan 16, 8pm US Eastern Time; Wed, Jan 18, 8pm US Eastern Time. NOTE: Zen has multiple accounts for when it uses different configurations and hardware. You can find the games under the accounts ‘tromp’ or ‘Zen19N’.

The Shodan Go bet was a $1000 dollar bet between John Tromp and Darren Cook, made back in 1997. Tromp staked money on the claim that he would not “be beaten in a 10 game match before the year 2011″ and Cook took him up on it. Even though Tromp won the bet in late 2010, the question of when computers will reach the level of ‘international shodan’ still hasn’t been formally resolved. Can Tromp do it again?

You can find out more about the Shodan Go Bet at Darren Cook’s website and visit John Tromp’s website to learn more about him. More details are also available at Go Game Guru.

Go Art: Game AIs

Chris Garlock — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 04:15:42 +0000

Reader Rich Newman sent this along, from the January 11 edition of XKCD, “A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.”

Go In The News: Forbes Influence

Chris Garlock — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 04:15:37 +0000

Go makes an appearance in a January 4 Forbes post by Haydn Shaughnessy. The post is about social media influencers and go is employed as a graphic illustration of influence, with Shaughnessy noting that “Social media influencers seem to have alighted on good strategies to build and sustain influence.” Thanks to Peter Kron for passing this along.

Park Dae-woong 6d Tops New Orange County Club’s Inaugural League Competition

Chris Garlock — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:23:04 +0000

Park Dae-woong 6d topped the first league competition at the recently-opened New Han Kook Go Club in Garden Grove, CA. The two-week, 32-player competition ended Dec. 30th with Park Dae-woong 6d in first place, Han Sang-kook 1d in second and Chung Tae-wha 2d in 3rd, reported club owner Song Kim. Club members enjoyed a buffet dinner and a visit with simultaneous games from Kim Myung-wan 9P. Several league competitions a year are planned, Kim said. The new, well-appointed, non-smoking facility is the first 7-day-a-week club to open in Southern California for some time, according to local organizer Andy Okun. “It is a very pleasant place to play,” Okun told the E-Journal. The club’s hours are 11a to 9:30p; it’s located at 9738 Garden Grove Blvd., #6, Garden Grove, CA 92844. Telephone 714-530-5121.

This Week’s Go Calendar: Tacoma

Roger Schrag — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:22:41 +0000

January 22: Tacoma, WA
Sun Reprise Tournament
Gordon Castanza gcastanza@comcst.net 253.853.4831
Mike Malveaux mike.malveaux@gmail.com 253.906.0095

Check the very latest tournament information.

U.S.Players Invited to Join CGA Online Leagues

Chris Garlock — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:31:57 +0000

U.S. players have been invited to participate in the new Canadian Go Association on-line KGS leagues, reports AGA Tournament Coordinator Karoline Burrall. The leagues started in early January but if you miss the first round of 2012 the next league starts in mid February. AGA members have been invited to join the CGA and to participate in the leagues at no cost. “The games are serious,” says CGA’s Chuck Elliott, who promises “You will get stronger.” . Prize money last year was $450 and Elliott hopes it will grow to $2,000 in 2012. Click here for details and to sign up.

’12 Youth Go Camps Unlikely Unless Organizers Step Up

Chris Garlock — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:21:13 +0000

As previously reported, the future of American youth go camps is very much in question (U.S. Youth Go Camp Future in Doubt 12/17/2011 EJ). With no volunteers as yet stepping up to organize this year’s camps, “It may be time to recognize that the Congress itself has become the go camp, and that the AGA should not guarantee funding for a separate camp anymore,” says American Go Association President Allan Abramson. Anyone interested in finding out more about running a camp in 2012 should contact Abramson at president@usgo.org by January 31.
Photo: Kids take a break from studying to bury one of their counselors in pillows, photo by Amanda Miller (who is at the bottom of the pillow pile) from the 2010 camp.

Go Photo: First 2012 Meeting of the Santa Barbara Go Club

Chris Garlock — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:36:32 +0000

The Santa Barbara (CA) Go Club welcomed the New Year with players on five boards at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (3052 De La Vina Street) on Wednesday, January 4.
- photo by Ed Lee
Got local go news? Email it to us at journal@usgo.org!

10 Minutes With: Jujo Jiang & Naiwei Rui

Chris Garlock — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:28:59 +0000

The E-Journal caught up with Jujo Jiang 9P and his wife Rui Naiwei 9P when the two top players made a special appearance at the Jujo Cup in San Francisco this past weekend (look for a tournament report soon). Jujo is the younger brother of Mingjiu Jiang 7P; he and Rui Naiwei — who holds most of the major women’s titles in Korea — taught in the Bay Area during the 90s and early 2000s before going to Korea for a number of years. Both Jiang and his wife recently returned to Shanghai, China to open a go school for children. They plan to spread the game of go there at all levels, from introducing go to the local elementary schools, to teaching the go instructors at those schools to improve their playing strengths, and also opening go classes for students who are more interested. Their school, which opened in late 2011, already has 100 students, and is sure to be filled with the sound of stones hitting boards in the near future. Jiang fondly reminisced about his time in the US, saying that “It was nice to find so many go players who played because they truly loved the game.” However, for those young players who want to become strong players, he says “It’s important to study with a professional teacher,” noting that there are more professionals in the US than when he was here, and it is also now easy to do so online as well. For the more daring youth who dream to become professional, he encourages them to stay a few years in Asia and become an insei, which he calls “an unforgettable experience.”
- report/photo by Lawrence Ku

Minicomic Teaches First Capture

Paul Barchilon — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:39:02 +0000

Yi Weng, of the Rockville Go Club in Maryland, has made a minicomic that helps teach people about Go. Weng made the comic as an assignment in one of his classes, but decided to make it educational as well. The nine-page story makes a great introduction for kids, or anyone, and directions on how to play first capture are on the last page. The comic can be downloaded here: firstcapture. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor.

This Week’s Go Calendar: Boulder, Evanston, Somerville

Roger Schrag — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:45:53 +0000

January 14: Boulder, CO
Rocky Mountain Winter Go Tournament
David Weiss onelineoff@gmail.com 720.904.3524

January 14-15: Evanston, IL
13th Annual Winter Workshop with Yilun Yang
Mark Rubenstein mark@evanstongoclub.org 847.869.6020

January 15: Somerville, MA
Mass Go Assoc. Winter Handicap Tournament
Eva Casey eva@theworld.com 617.666.8934
Wanda Metcalf wcm@oat.com 617.969.3448

Check the very latest tournament information.

Your Move/Readers Write: More on NYC Go Revival

Chris Garlock — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:00:06 +0000

While commending Boris Bernadsky “for his past and his current contribution to the go community in New York City (Go Renaissance in the Big Apple 12/26/2011 EJ),” Peter Armenia – Co-Director of both the 2006 and 2012 U.S. Go Congresses in Black Mountain, North Carolina — writes to mention another thriving new AGA chapter in New York City, the Gotham Go Group, which meets Tuesdays from 7 -11p at the Hungarian Pastry Shop (1030 Amsterdam Ave between 110th and 111th). Armenia founded the Gotham club in October “and we have been getting 10-15 players a week. That is where I had the pleasure to meet Boris and we talked about doing tournaments. He was the one who put on the tourney at the Fat Cat, a great venue which deserves a write up all it’s own. Scott, another guy who came to our club, has started getting people to meet in Midtown Manhattan on Thursdays with my encouragement as well. As I am sure Boris would agree, you missed a mention of the real spark that has helped to revive go in NYC.”

USYGC Deadline Jan. 15

Paul Barchilon — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 03:18:47 +0000

Just one week left to register for the US Youth Go Championships. Registrations have been coming in steadily, and several brackets are looking interesting. 23 Dan level kids are in the top two brackets so far, competition will also be tough in the 1-5 kyu bracket, with 11 kids at the moment. 6-10 kyu players will have their own bracket too, and more double digit kyu players are encouraged to register. To see who is signed up so far, go here. To register, e-mail youth@usgo.org with your name, AGA #, date of birth, AGA rating, KGS ID, and citizenship. You may enter at a rank higher than your official AGA rank, but may not enter at a lower one. The registration deadline is Sunday, January 15th. For more info, see the USYGC page. -Paul Barchilon E-J Youth Editor.

Janice Kim Launches New Go Blog

Chris Garlock — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:03:58 +0000

Janice is back! American professional Janice Kim 3P (at right), the popular go author, lecturer at many U.S. Go Congresses and former American Go Journal columnist (“Life in B-League”), has just launched a go blog. The idea of the Learn To Play Go blog, hosted by Kim’s Samarkand.Net website, “is that if AGA members want to have one of their games analyzed and would email it to me in sgf format — along with any questions they have — I will identify it in the grand scheme, incorporate it in a weekly go tutorial blog post, and cast both players as ‘spy vs. spy’ for complete anonymity,” Janice tells the E-Journal. Send your sgf game records – and questions – to jkim@samarkand.net and be sure to put “sgf file” in the subject line and include your AGA membership number.

“Perhaps you are familiar with logic puzzles involving hats,” Janice suggests in the first post, What Hat Are You Wearing? “No? For example, imagine there are 10 prisoners and 10 hats. Each prisoner is assigned a random hat, either red or blue, but the number of each color hat is not known to the prisoners. The prisoners will be lined up single file where each can see the hats in front of him but not behind. Starting with the prisoner in the back of the line and moving forward, they must each, in turn, say only one word which must be ‘red’ or ‘blue’. If the word matches their hat color they are released, if not, they are killed on the spot. A friendly guard warns them of this test one hour beforehand and tells them that they can formulate a plan together to help them survive within the given parameters. How many prisoners could you guarantee to save? While I was thinking about hats, I thought about how it might relate to go, and outlined in broad strokes my new Hat Theory in the comments of the go game below.”

EuroGoTV-News: December 17-31

Chris Garlock — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:15:28 +0000

UK: The 2011 London Open – held 12/28-31 in London — was won by YoungSam Kim 7d who won all his games. Lingjun Miao 4d was second came and in third was Yunlong Liu 3d. Click here for a more detailed report and results. Austria: Schayan Hamrah (at left) won the Austrian championship finals in mid-December. Click here for an interview with him. Spain: Alejandro Lopez 5k won the December 28 La Carboneria tournament, played in Sevilla, Spain. Romania: The Cluj-Napoca- City Championship, played December 16-18 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, was won by George Ghetu 3d. Turkey: Ozgur Degirmenci 2d won the 19th Alpar Kilinc Memorial Tournament, played Dec 17-18 in ODTU/Ankara, Turkey. Switzerland: The 2011 Swiss Go Camp League, played Dec 16-19 in Montbonvon, Switzerland, was won by Semi Lee 4d.
- Excerpted from reports – including full results — on EuroGoTV

Member’s Edition: Yilun Yang’s 2012 New Year Life & Death Puzzle

Chris Garlock — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:00:25 +0000

Black to play…

download SGF file

This is a sample of the content included in the weekly Member’s Edition of the American Go E-Journal; please consider joining to support American go. Happy 2012!

Published in the January 3, 2012 edition of the American Go E-Journal

This Week’s Go Calendar: San Francisco, Germantown, Seattle

Roger Schrag — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:14:44 +0000

January 7-8: San Francisco, CA
Jujo Jiang Goe Tournament
Ernest Brown indagoe49@yahoo.com 415.606.7641
Mike Bull bull@lmi.com 510.220.0760

January 8: Germantown, MD
Yuan Zhou’s Group Go Lesson
Yuan Zhou yuan.zhou@zhouyuan.com 240.271.2304

January 8: Seattle, WA
Jin Chen Memorial Tournament
Brian Allen manager@seattlego.org 206.545.1424

Check the very latest tournament information.

AGA Inks Deals with Korea to Develop U.S. Pro System

Chris Garlock — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 01:30:43 +0000

The American Go Association (AGA) in December signed agreements with Korea to promote a new professional players’ system in the U.S. AGA Board Chairman Andy Okun (right) signed the agreements with the Korea Baduk Association and the Korean go server TongYang Online (Tygem) December 19th in Seoul, Korea. “With the generous support of the KBA and Tygem, we are off to a great start,” Okun said. “These partnerships will help grow go in the U.S. and produce players who can win at the international level. This may be a long road, but with our partners’ help it will be a successful finish.” Said KBA Secretary General Yang Jae-Ho, “The KBA wants the AGA to grow, and is hoping to see American professional players who defeat Asian players in an international tournament.” He added that “I hope to see even bigger tournaments than the Samsung and LG Cup in America.” And Tygem CEO Jeong In-Soo (left, in photo) said that “I sincerely hope TongYang Online and the AGA will lead the globalization of baduk through our cooperation.” Tygem agreed to provide $30,000 annually to fund the AGA’s professional certification tournament, which will be broadcast exclusively via Tygem, which recently launched its English language website, and is seeking to expand its player base outside Asia. Under the KBA Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) – which Feng Yun 9P has complained was negotiated without participation by American professionals – KBA, as part of its cultural mission to spread go around the world, has agreed to allow AGA-certified North American professionals to compete in five major Korean tournaments and to provide them with low-cost training. Kim Myung-Wan 9P, the KBA representative to the U.S., will continue to support the AGA’s efforts, and will chair a committee designing the certification system and developing pro activities. Okun credited the two agreements to Kim’s “hard work and perseverance.” Click here for the Tygem MOU.

Top Players Set to Play in Jujo Jiang Goe Tourney

Chris Garlock — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 00:22:27 +0000

Jujo Jiang 9P (right) and Rui NaiWei 9P are among those planning to play in the upcoming Jujo Jiang Goe Tournament . The first North American Masters’ qualifier of 2012, the tournament will be held Saturday and Sunday, January 7-8 in San Francisco CA. The tournament is sponsored by Ing’s Goe Foundation and the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco. Historically well-attended, the tournament will provide the opportunity for many strong players to earn points towards competition in the North American Masters’ Tournament, which will be held at the 2012 Go Congress. Click here for details or to register.

Go Renaissance in the Big Apple

Chris Garlock — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 00:14:15 +0000

Since the New York Go Center closed in 2010, New York City’s go scene has ironically been experiencing a bit of a go renaissance, reports local organizer Boris Bernadsky. “Perhaps it’s due to people no longer taking having a go club for granted that encouraged the go community to become more active in going out to play,” Bernadsky tells the E-Journal. The most notable addition to New York go is the mostly go club on meetup.com. “This 2.0 style go club allows people to very easily organize go meetings all over the city, anytime they want,” says Bernadsky. “A lonely go player now needs very little organizing skill or experience to put together a fun day playing go in the park, or in a cafe.” The New York go resurgence was very apparent is mid-December when two tournaments were held on the same weekend. On Friday December 16th there was a “Traditional Drinking Tournament” at the Fat Cat jazz lounge. In this type of tournament, all games are self-paired, and each player has 4 hours to drink and win as many games as they can. Matthew Hershberger (right) out-drank and outplayed the 10-player field, collecting the Orange Juice trophy, “a prize chosen for its healing powers in the morning,” says Bernadsky. On Sunday December 17, 30 players re-gathered at the Fat-Cat for the Thailand Relief Tournament, run by Go Rebuilds., a new organization with the motto “Go tournaments with a cause.” The tournament was run entirely using Goclubs.org, which “helped make the time from ‘Check in’ to ‘Round One’ very short,” Bernadsky says. Over $450 was raised by the New York go community to help Thailand, still suffering from floods last summer. Prizes included a $60 gift certificate to the Rhong Tiam Thai restaurant, one-month membership to Alexander Dinerchtein’s online Insei-league and a private lesson from professional Stephanie Yin. Additionally, all attendees received a $10 coupon to slateandshell.com as well as a free online lesson from Kazunari Furuyama kazsensei.com. Kerstin Bergstrom 1D, Tawan Newton 4k, David Chow 7k, and Joe Suzuki 10k won all three of their games to tie for first place.

British Tourney Updates; BGA Print Newsletter to Suspend Publication

Chris Garlock — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 00:01:11 +0000

Edinburgh Christmas Open: Yunlong Liu 3d (Stirling) was the best of the 24 players at the 12/3 tournament. West Surrey Handicap Tournament: Ten years after previously winning, Malcolm Hagan won the West Surrey Handicap Tournament on December 3, probably the last ever such event, with just 13 players turning up. Coventry Tournament: Andrew Kay beat Matthew MacFadyen in their third-round game on November 19, increase Kay’s current titles to five. Three Peaks Tournament: Andrew Kay stopped Matthew Cocke’s run of three titles in a row at the Three Peaks Tournament in Grange-Over-Sands, November 12–13, giving Kay four current titles. East Midlands Tournament: Chong Han 5d from Loughborough was the winner in the November 5 tourney, beating Francis Roads, Jon Diamond and Tony Atkins along the way. Wessex Tournament: Yunlong Liu 3d, a temporary student in Scotland, won the 42nd Wessex Tournament on October 30 in Bath, beating defending champion Andrew Kay by two points in the final.
– excerpted from reports in the December 2011 British Go Association Newsletter, which also reported that due to financial reasons the 30-year-old print publication — which appeared six times each year — will be suspended as of the April 2012 edition. “We are in discussion as to whether it will continue as an electronic publication,” the Newsletter added. Publication of the British Go Journal will continue, and you can keep up to date with British go news on the BGA website.